Tampa Pre-Existing Conditions Lawyer

Sometimes, an illness or injury is clearly connected to an incident at work. Other times, the link is not so apparent. For example, a victim may lose her hearing partially because of her work environment and partially because of loud non-work noises. Or, a man with a prior knee injury may re-injure that joint at work. Full workers’ compensation benefits may still be available in cases like these, depending on the MCC issue.

Aggressive insurance companies often use pre-existing conditions as an excuse to deny benefits. So, workers need equally aggressive attorneys, like the ones at Barbas Nuñez Sanders Butler & Hovsepian, to level the playing field. Our professional team uses proven methods to collect the evidence necessary to establish your claim. Then, we fight for the benefits you deserve. We’re pleased to say that the results we obtain often exceed our clients’ expectations.

The Major Contributing Cause in Tampa Workers’ Compensation Claims

In general, if the job injury was more than 50 percent responsible for the overall injury, workers’ compensation benefits are available. These benefits include:

Lost Wages: Victims who sustain temporary disabilities usually receive two-thirds of their average weekly wage for up to five years. Victims with permanent disabilities usually receive a payment based on a number of factors, such as their salary amounts and the extent of their disabilities.

Medical Bills: Major illnesses or injuries could mean tens of thousands of dollars, or even more, in doctor bills and other medical expenses. Workers’ compensation pays for all these costs, provided that they were medically necessary.

In some cases, such as an injury due to a defective product or an illness caused by the employer’s extreme recklessness, additional compensation may be available.

The MCC rule in Florida workers’ compensation cases is basically an offshoot of the eggshell skull rule in personal injury and other negligence cases. Essentially, both negligence defendants and workers’ compensation employers must take victims as they find them. If they have “eggshell skulls” or other pre-existing conditions which make them prone to injury, the employer cannot receive a windfall because of the worker’s prior disability.

Some Examples of Tampa’s MCC Rule

Establishing the work-related cause as the MCC is not a matter of speculation. Victim/plaintiffs must have evidence to support their claims. Fortunately, an experienced Tampa workers’ compensation attorney knows how to obtain this evidence.

In the above hearing loss example, not all kinds of deafness are created equally. A physician can usually trace the cause to a specific period of time or even a specific noise.

The above knee example works the same way. Perhaps the knee pain and lack of mobility was much worse following the workplace injury than it was at the time of the prior injury. Or, perhaps pain presents on a different part of the knee.

The more available records there are from the previous incident, the easier your workers’ compensation claim is to prove. If the prior claim also involved workers’ compensation, that is even better.

Reach Out to Tenacious Lawyers

Workers’ compensation benefits may be available even in re-injury cases. For a free consultation with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney in Tampa, contact Barbas Nuñez Sanders Butler & Hovsepian. We have offices in Sarasota, Land O’ Lakes, St. Petersburg, and Tampa.

Jimmie Butler very good attorney everything went very well. Thank you.

I had an amazing experience with Stephen Barbas and he worked on my case for years and he hit the nail on the head when he told me what my case was worth years before we settled. He kept telling that we were not going to except the insurance companies offer until it was a fair ...

Kelly is fantastic. We met with a few different attorneys before we met with Kelly and she was very sympathetic and understanding from the very start. She listened to our story, took detailed notes and started to explain her course of action immediately!

She was always attentive to the needs that I had at the time especially when I was nervous about having surgery. She was always there to calm me down and saying that it will be okay and it was. When I would get anxious again she would calm me down and tell me it takes time and ...

My experience with Kelly Barcia Nuñez was excelent. She is trustworthy, very knowledgeable, very professional and instructive within all areas. She communicates well and provides excellent service. I would highly recommend her 100% to family, friends or any person. Thank you Kelly.

My husband and I sought her counsel for a Workers Comp benefits that we had never received. Painless was not what we were expecting. The paperwork was very easy to understand. Both she and her staff kept us informed throughout the process.

Kelly and her associates are excellent attorneys. They are very knowledgeable, responsive and reliable. Kelly represented me in a damage claim resulting from the BP oil spill and I am very pleased with the quality of her work and the resolution. I would recommend Kelly and her firm.

Kelly was referred to us by a close friend who also is an attorney . She is very knowledgeable and a total go getter. She is trust worthy and hard working and knows the law. This is our second time using her services.

My experiences with Kelly Barcia Nunez were superb. She is very professional and instructive within all areas. Further, she communicates well and provides excellent service. I am very pleased with the final result of my case. I would highly recommend her ...

She was so amazing through my entire process. She made me feel so at ease and confident to take on everything that was necessary. I would absolutely recommend her to everyone.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

No content on this site may be reused in any fashion without written permission.